From my weekend

I often feel like I fail at allowing randomness into my life. It's such a meaningful thing to me to have places to go that have become an extension of my home; favourite coffee shops and bookshops, bars, restaurants, routes to walk. And that's the kind of life I seek out when I don't have it. Of course, when I first moved here there was nothing familiar. So building those things marked a kind of achievement, the sense that I've made this place home.

Yet, having established that, I know I ought to be looser with it and let the city's arbitrariness and sense of discovery wash over me, knowing as I do now that I belong here. And I suppose when I first got here it was hard to always be walking into a new place, seeing unfamiliar faces and feeling like the uncool Dubliner that I sort of hunkered down into one corner of the city because it was more manageable.

But yesterday, Laura and I strolled around the city and walked down streets that I used to live on when I first moved here, a terrible time really. But I found myself seeing those streets differently and we found coffee shops to sit at that I could imagine wanting to sit at more often. And I felt again how small I've made this city and what a shame that is. But I think people do that in general because casting yourself always out into the world takes so much energy all the time.

But it's nice to shake it up, of course. And even though it's winter now and not the best time for roaming adventures, I want to do that more often. And it's nice to feel a different kind of tiredness from walking different places, looking at different people, seeing different handsome bearded men from the handsome bearded men in my own neighbourhood. Never fear, though, all handsome bearded men are equal in my eyes...

Weekend images: Loot from City of Craft | Christmas Tree in my lobby | House I fell in love with | Coffee | Queen West - all Instagram shots

I have certainly become comfortable in the specific parts of San Francisco I've made my own. Sometimes it is exhilarating to to venture off my familiar path and sometimes it is disappointing, but I know I'll never find the good stuff, new handsome bearded men for instance, if I let myself become too comfortable. Enjoy shaking it up a little. I'll be doing the same.

jane - i absolutely feel the same way! toronto is so incredible with its many little neighborhoods nestled into bigger areas, there are always new places to visit and new gems to find. we live right downtown, which feels very corporate and not "neighborhoody" at all to me (right near yonge & dundas), so we bought "indie coffee passports" (www.indiecoffeepassport.com i think) for $25 which are good for the fall & winter, and have 30 cafes around central toronto where you can visit, show your passport, and get a free drink from their list of handcrafted amazingness. it's a great way to find reasons to get out and explore the city on weekends (pick a cafe, head to the area, sit & read awhile while we sip our americanos or lattes, then head out and walk around the area) and we're finding so many new, amazing, independent cafes. and everyone is so friendly! xo

and ps, since buying the coffee passport, we've found a few cafes right near us that are pretty awesome too :)

If the bigger the beard the closer to God, my dad is a saint. We call him Moses actually.

I feel the same way about Perth. I have my favourite places here, but I often feel I should branch out more and be more adventurous. I'm extremely self-conscious and shy, so it's hard for me to put myself out there in the world. But it sometimes pays off.

It's funny how 'routine' can reduce the size of a city. I think I know what you mean and feel the same way about NYC. It's so huge and I feel as though as I have to take it all in and go 'everywhere' because I won't be here forever. At the same time, I also protect my routines (like my Saturday brunch) because they're very much part of making New York home, too.

Absolutely agree - I want to protect "my" spots too and my routines as well. Sometimes my free time feels so limited I'm not up for the energy of all new things. But it's nice to explore once inawhile, if only to remind myself that my city is much bigger than my little existence in it.